Fireproof floor construction



Feb. 9, 1932. o, s QWMAN 1,844,310

FIREPROOF FLOOR CONSTRUCTION Filed Oct. 20, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 M Wwf 7/4 5 7 9 I gmzntoz i5 Il. I ilu. i 9 fef aWWm/n. 4f 1? .Y/ l l Patented F eh. 9, 1932 OLIVER YS. IBOWll'IAN, OFlCOLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO v Flamenca .mooncoasmvemon application,aieapctobr 2o, 1930. .sriailno. l489,8qq..

This invention relates to improvements in n l" i reproot floor constructions, and has rerera licor which shall have great strength and Awhich can be easily and cheaply installed.

IIn modern fireproohuildings it is customary to employ concrete floor constructions which Arequire special forms and which have concrete arches between' the beams, whereby the construction becomes yvery expensive Y and heavy. Y

It is an obj ect of thisinvention to produce a floor constructionthat shall Vhe "of light weight and which shall have suiicient.

strengthto withstand the most severe usesto which it will be subjected, and Vwhich ,atthe saine time shall he cheap and of such construction that thefloor surface will not crack if it` is overloaded to such an extent that it willflex. Y rlliis invention is, to some extent, a continuation and kpart lof application Serial No.

442,21S,-iled April 7, 1930, anddiiers from this in several particulars to which reference will be directed as the description proce-eds.

T his invention brieiiy described consists in supporting on parallel'heams va plurality of steel pans that are placed side by side, transversely of the beams, with their open sidesup- Y ward. These pans are filled with vva cinder concrete, 4or some similar concretemi'xture, .that isplaced in thepansin plastic condition and allowed to harden in place. The mixture used for llingithe pansshould be of such a i nature that it is possible to clrivea nail into Ait. The upper surface ofthe concrete inthe pans is covered with a vcoating of asphaltum :for the purpose ofproducing a` smooth surface to which the tonla er ofthe floor will not adhere. Secured tothe upper surface of. the

cinder lconcrete are separator strips that eX- tend transversely of each other so as to form compartments `that are then illedwithV a Ymixture oflPortland cement and sandv and rnarlole in such a way as to form a hard upper surface- Fig". 12

fdesign, and

v`that can he troweled orgrouncl `so as to-girve' it a suitahle'ini'sh.4 ence more particularly tothe construction of briefly descrihedthe invention thesarne will nowfh'e describedin'gre'aterde- Vt ail, a'ndgfor this'purpose. reference will be had to the acccmpaying drawings' in which ythe improvedloor construction',

" Fig. Quis'atransverse 'section taken Online 55 2&2; Fielf; i y ig. 3 is a topplan View of voneot the pans v.shvov'ving `the beamsf; Y

Fig. 4 1s aplan view showingaportion ot the linishedioorsurface; 'f Y am@inam.ottempera@ v' jisaptop view showingthe separiator strips assembled'position;f y l i V' Fig. v6 'isa sectiontalen on line T65- 6, Fig. 5; Fig. -7 (is a section `similar to Y"that shown :in

.'Qfconstruction g v g.8 isa side elevation ofthe separator strips;

Fig. `9 isa section talfeno'n line .S-9,15 ig."8 5

10 is E afside elevation showing la portion'of the Qtherseparator strips; l'

ig. ll1 is a'section taken oil-'line l1-#11, Bigio; tFia .lQ'iS a Op 'P12111 View Showing the crossingot two separator strips, one'ofwhich is constructed'in a slightlyl diierent4 manner; Fie- 13 is a. .Se'etioh ta-ken 10h 1in@v ."1.3'-f13,

0f .a pertri afee@ `Fig. 1,4 Visa side Aelevationshowing a portion ofthe anchoring separator strip;A l

"F.e- 16. iS. a' Setin taken .at the 'crossing of two sep arator` strips cfa slightlydiiferent is a;sec'tion taken online 177-477,

v In-the drawings reference numeral l representsgthe ltraine heams to which-other? so g beams 2 are secured by means of suitable angle brackets 3. The upper surfaces of the beams 2 are in the saine plane as the upper surfaces of beam 1,` in the manner shown in Fig. 1. The beams 2 form the floor joists and secured to their upper edges are shallow steel pans l. These pans have their edges bent upwardly as indicated by reference numeral 5 to form parallel sides, whose upper edges are preferably bent inwardly at an angle of 90 degrees as indicated by reference numeral 6.v The bottoms ofthe pans have tongues cut so as to forni lugs Vthat can be bent downwardly underneath theV upper' iianges of the joists in the mannershown in Fig. 2. The pans are placedv side by side as shown in Fig. 1 and form the support forthe iireprooi' floor construction. After the pans have been put into place they 'are `iilled'with a mixture of Portland cement and some aggregate, such as cinders, whereby a cinder concrete is producedwhich is applied in plastic conditionand allowed to harden in place.

The aggregate may be some other material than f `cinders, but the concrete, after it has hardened, should be of such nature that it is possible to drive nailsinto it for the purpose of attaching y.the separator strips 7.

These strips have across section like that shown in Fig. 13, from which it will be seen thatA the upper one-halt ofthe width of the strip isstraight as indicated by reference numeral8, and below thisthere is a longitudinal corrugation comprising two inclined a sides 9, 'the lower of whichv terminates ina, flange that is bent vat right angles to thev part'S, andperforated for the reception of nails 11 by whichl it isattached to the cinder concrete as shown `in Figs..12 and 18'. The

.strips 7 extendrin the direction of Ithe length of the pans andare secured vto' the cinder concrete adjacent the edges' of the sides of the pans, as shown .in Fig. l .Strips 7 ofstrips 7. yThen the strips are assembled dition and allowed to'harden in place.

are provided with notches 12that are large enough to receive the transverse separator strips 13. These strips are of thesame shape and size as strips7 with this exception that the flanges 10 have been omitted. The upper straight portions of kstrips 13 have narrow notches 14 for thereception of the parts 8 in the' manner shown theyformA rectangular compartments in the manner indicated in 5, and within vthese compartments thcconcrete mixture that forms the upper and iinished floorsurface is poured in plastic con- For .the purpose of preventing the upper concrete layer 15 from adhering tothev cinder concrete 16,"the upper surface ofthe latter is Vlirst coated with a paint-like material, such as asphaltum, which gives it a smooth sur-v acethatprevents bondingbetween the two y rlersrozt concrete. When the top layerl is separated from the lower layer by this paintlike material, it will not crack as readily as it would if the two surfaces of the separate layers of concrete were interconnected as they would be if the top layer were applied directly to 'the upper surface ot' the lower layer. The separation of two layers of concrete, used in a floor construction, by means of asphaltum, or some other equivalent substance, is of great importance as it permits the Hoor. surface to iex to a greaterl extent than otherwise would'be possible without producing cracks in Vthe nished floor surtace. Since the concrete in the pans is of a different composition than the top layer,

',.theremay alsobe an unequal expansion due lhas been indicated by reference character 10a in'Fig. 6 extends downwardly in the plane of the upper portion 8, and instead'of` being nailed to the concrete in the pans, the part'lOay is interposed between the adjacent sides of the pans in the manner shown in Fig. 6, and is held in place by theiriction between the sides and when necessary can kbe spot-welded, inA

which case it will be firmly attached tothe pans so as to positively anchor the strips against removal.. It will be seen from Fig. 8 that strips 7a,.like strip 7, are provided on their loweiiedges with notchesl 12 forl thereception of the transverse strips 13, which, in

turn, are provided on their upper edges with notches le into which the parts 8 of strips 7 a extend. Since notches 12 are on the lower side of strips 7, it is evident that strips 7 will be anchored to the panassembly by the action of the strips 13. l

In Fig. 7 I havevsho'wnl a construction in which one of the sides of each pan is provided with kan offset portion 5a into which the part 10a of theanchoring 'stripjextendsy and this permits the sides of the,v pans toA be placed in contact with each other as distinguished from the construction shown in Fig. 6 where the pans are spaced the thickness-of the anchor.n

ing strip. In Figs. 10 and11'I have shown yrespectivelya side elevation anda vtransverse section of strips 13, which-shows that their construction is the same as that of strips 7 and 7 a with this exception that no portion extends belowthe inclined side 9, and that instead of having wide notches 12 they vare provided with narrow notches 14.

Attention is called tothe fact that 'the separator-strips are provided with longitudinally extending corrugations with which the con- @sesam of separator strips have been shown. In the embodiment shown in these figures, the strips are transversely fiat instead of being provided with corrugations. The strip that corresponds to strip 7 has been designated by reference character 7?) and the one that corresponds to strip 13 has been designated by 'reference character 13a. rlhe strips have inter-engaging notches so that they may cross each other, and the lower edge of strip 7b Y extends between the sides of the pans and serves to anchor the assembly to the pans;

l/Vhen the floor has been finished it has the appearance shown in Fig. 4, where the upper edges of the strips, which have been ground down to the same level as the floor, form separator lines that divide the floor into squares and when the strips are made of brass, the floor will have a very rich and pleasing appearance. Y

In Figs. l and 2 a ceiling has been shown attached to the underside of the floor frame work, and this ceiling is constructed in the ordinary manner. Although the ceiling construction does not form part of this invention, a. short description of the same will be made. rlhe ceiling is formed from steel sheets, such as have been indicated by reference numeral 17, and these are secured to the beams 2 by suitable anchors 18. A layer of plaster 19 forms the nishing coat of the ceiling.

ln the toi-eg ing part of this speciiication l have called attention to the fact that if the cinder concrete, or other concrete mixture, in the pans has its upper surface coated with a coat of paint-like material, such as asphaltum or any other kind of paint, or even with material that cannot be classed as a paint, but which prevents bonding between the two layers, then the upper layer will not crack as readily as if it were bonded to the under layer. It the under layer cracks the crack will not be extended into or through the upper layer because of the spacer of non-bonding material.

From the above description it will be seen that l have produced a floor construction of a simple and substantial design that is of very light weight, and which has great strength` and which is also adapted to withstand heavy bending strains without cracking.

Having described the invention what is claimed as new is:

1. A floor construction comprising a plurality of elongated metal pans adapted to be placed side by side on a support, a cinder concrete, or the like, lilling the pans and hardencd in place, a coat of paint-like material covering the upper surface of the concrete, separator plates secured to the concrete so as ..totorm conipzmtine-nts,` and a'cementitious top lioofrfmaterialfin the compartments., Y l

' l. i2. .A ,licor constrnction lcomprising` a plu- .,ralityoflelongated, metal pans adaptedl to be f cr. the 1 lilre. illing the .pans Yand hardened in pl-ace,;a. coat, of i paint-.like p. material vcovering Y the nppersurfacei-of .the cinder'` concrete, a

, plur-alityfo separaten ,strips secured in place ,above the, cinder.,conci'etei so as to form, compartnients andra, top HOOrmaterial filling, the i,coinpartinentsl and,h ar,de ned l in i place.

3. A ireproof floor construction comprising .spaced I snpportingbeams, shallow vsteel panssnppertedon'the beams, the pans having upwardly extending sides and adapted to be placed in contact, means tor securing the pans to the beams and separator strips having their lower edges projecting downwardly between the sides of the pans, whereby they will be held in place.

ll. A ireproof licor construction comprising spaced supporting beams, shallow steel pans supported on 'the beams, the pans having upwardly extending sides and adapted to be placed in Contact, means for securing the pans to the beams, separator strips having their lower edges projecting downwardly between the sides of the pans, whereby they will be held in place, and other separator strips extending transversely of the first, whereby compartments are formed, the twoy sets of strips having inter-engaging notches whereby they will be held in position. 5. A floor construction comprising spaced supports, a plurality of pans resting on the supports and placed side by side with their open ends upward, and separator strips extending in the direction of the length of the.A pans, the lower edges of the strips project-- plac'egl` side; sidegandl secured.. tof1 the top of y v spaced supporting beams, a cinder-concrete,

soV

ing downwardly between the sides of adja- Y cent pans, whereby vthey will be positively positioned with respect to the pans and held `against removal.

6. A floor construction comprising spaced parallel supporting beams, a plurality ot' shallow pans extendingtransversely of the beams, means for securing the pans to the beams, separatorstrips extending transversely of the pans above the latter and combined anchor and separator strips Vextending in the direction of the pans, the lower edges of the lastrnamed strips being positioned between the walls of adjacent pans,

being provided with inter-engagingnotches for receiving portions of the strips thatv cross them.

y7. ln a lioor construction having spacedV top of the pans, one set of strips extending' whereby they will, v be held 1n alignment with the pans, the strips transversely of the pans and the other set- 'f longitudinally of the pans, both sets of strips having corrugations extending longitudinally and each set having one edge providedl with notches for the ieceptionof the strips of i the other set. Y 8. Supportngdevies vfor use in reproof f Hoor Construction comprising elongated pans having flat bottomsand parallel sides extend# o ing vertically from opposite edges of the bot-v tom, one of the sides having a portion near its upper edge odset inwardly so as to lie in a plane slight-ly closer to the center of the pans. 5 ln testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

OLIVER BOWMAN. 

